Stars to Watch 2015: Robert Stamm

Most Proud Of: Robert Stamm is not only responsible for advising multi-cultural clients, he is also in charge of the firm’s crossborder Investment business in the Americas. In his capacity as advisor to Frankfurt, Germany-based Deka Immobilien GmbH, he helped bring the open-ended fund together with New York’s Ashkenazy Acquisitions in 2014 for the $170 million purchase of an 8,400-square-foot retail condominium at 522 Fifth Ave. in Manhattan. “You can imagine not only the numbers (but) the cash flows and regulations of a German fund, its culture, its language—all these different disciplines. It was our masterpiece.”

Secret to Success: Work

Greatest Challenges: Convincing others that there’s an alternative way of thinking. In 2009, that alternative way of thinking involved embracing offshore capital. “During that time, offshore capital was seen as a potential threat to a transaction, as not being reliable, so the main challenge was to have one big major transaction close.” He succeeded when he advised Deka Immobilien on the $208 million acquisition of Vornado’s 250,000-square-foot office building at 1999 K St. in Washington, D.C. But not all struggles are of a professional nature. As a father and husband, Stamm conceded it is a challenge “to combine my work and my personal life together.”

Best Advice Received: Never stop learning and never stop working.

—Barbra Murray

CPE selected 17 individuals and teams as the 2015 Stars to Watch. Details on their accomplishments appear in the February 2015 issue.